Quick-acting vise



Sept. 18, 1951 HELBlG 2,568,393

' QUICK ACTING VISE Filed Nov. 20, 1950 2 Sheet s-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HUGO HELBIG ATTORNEYS Sept. 18, 1951 Filed Nov. 20, 1950 H. HELBIG QUICK ACTING VISEI 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR v HUGO HELBIG mfg/yaw AT TORNEYS Patented Sept. 18, 1951 UNI T ED STATES QFiFiI-CTE? QUICK ACTING' Hugo -Helbig, Racimgcwisar.

ApplicationNovember 20, 1950;.-Setial1No...196;653

4 Claims:

This invention 'appertains' to quick: adjusting Vises and more particularly'to a novel means for holding the movable jaw of: a vise in its work clamping position.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide, in a vise of the typerhaving an adju'stable jaw. and a smoothlbeamor rodconnected therewith for moving the. jaw back'and forth toward and away fromvthewor-k and rigid jaw, novel means forfirmly gripping thervise: beam without marring the same after the desired adjustment of. the I jaw: relativ to the work.

Another salient :objectxof my invention is: to provide an adjustablejaw viseembodyinga split resilientrcollar having a smooth internal bore for normally slidably receiving the smooth vise beam, withxa novel and: simple means'for contracting the collar about the beam for firmly gripping the beamto hold the-same and its jaw in an 'adjusted position.

A further important object. of mylinvention is to-provide novel means including thimbles or. cups for receivingtheends of a: split collar with means formoving the thimblesior cups.over the collanto contract-the collar-about the vise beamuponthe mere actuationof a throwlever.

A still'further objector my invention is .to.pro-'- vide a quick adjusting: vise of the above character, which willbe durable and eflicientrinzuse;

one that will be simple and-easy. to manufacture and one that .can be placedupon' the market at. a reasonable cost..

With. these and other objects in; view, the invention consists in the/novel construction, .arrangement'and formation of. parts; as: willi be hereinafter more specifically described: and.

claimed, and illustrated incthe". accompanying drawings, in. which drawings;

Figure'l, is a centrallongitudinalrsectionalrview through my novel vise. taken on the line l-.l ofit Figure 3, looking in: the direction of the arrows, the view showing the operatingilever in: itsraised positionrfor permitting; the: free sliding .-of' the vise beam and movable jaw toward or awayfrom thework.

Figure 2, is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the throw lever in its-lowered position and with the split collar contracted about .the .-vise beam to hold the beam and the movable-jaw inan adjusted position.

Figure 3, 'is a horizontal view through the vise taken onthe line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking'in the direction. ofthe arrowsr- Figure 4, is a transverse sectional view through the vise taken on the lined- 4 ofFigure-l, looking in the direction ofthe arrows, illustrating the actu'atingplate for the-collar and the-throw lever formovingthe plate.--'

Figure 5, is a transverse sectional view through the vise taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1, look- 2 ing in, the direction. of the" arrows; illustrating the novel split-collar about the visebeam.

Figure 6, is a fragmentary detail vertical longi-- tudinal, sectionalwiewythe view illustrating a slightly modifiedform of the vise;

Referring to the drawingsin detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding partslthroughout the several views, the letter V generally indicates my novel vise. and thesame includes a rigid frame I!) having secured theretoor formed thereon adjacent to one end thereof, a rigidjaw I l. Secured to or formed on the frame I0, adjacent. to the opposite end thereof,-is.a housing l2, the purpose of which will. later. appear This housing. includes side walls. It, .endswalls J4 and a top wall 15. The bottom ofwthe'nhousing is closed by a removable bottom plate [6,. Which/facilitates assembling of various. parts, as will:later-appear., Secured to, or. tformedlonvthe .-frame on, opposite sides, of the housing l2, are: cars 1.7.: Rigidly connected to the earsfl and tothe'rigid', jaw II, are av pair of. spaced parallelsmooth guide rods I 8, and it is to be noted that these guide rodsare disposed on -opposite sides of the longitudinalcenter of the frame,

Freely slidable on the guide rods i8 is the movable jaw. l9, and this jaw has connected; thereto a smoothvise beam or. bar 2G; whichslidably extends through thehousingi I2. The end walls l4 oi the. housing 1 are provided with suitable guide openings for: receiving the beam. The extreme outer-end-:ofthe-beam is provided with any preferred type -ofhandy grip 2|, whereby the beam Zmand the movablejaw l9can be adjusted toward andaway-from therigid jaw Iv l1 In' connection with the :smootlrbeam or bar 20, I employ -a novel locking;- mechanism therefor, which: includes'sa gripping collar 22; Thiscollar is provided: with asmooth axially extending bore 23, through which normally the beam '20 slidably extends. The collar is split to permit the contractingathereofr; about the beam. 241 to permit the firm; gripping: of the. beam: without the marring thereof. As illustrated, thegripping collar 222 has oppositely; extending: kerfs or slots 24 therein, toz. permit" the .free: expansion and contractionth'ereof; These slots or kerfs '24 extend inwardly from::the..opposite ends of thecollar and eachzslot terminates short o-f one endof the collar. ancl-= theseslots are alternately arranged, as is best shown in Figures 2 and 3. The outer surface of: the collar. iz has it's-terminals tapered in opposite -directions to provide conical wedge surfaces- 255 As shown in the-firstform of my invention; Figuresd', 2 and 3, these tapered ends of thecollar 22 are'received-i-n cups or thim bles 26, and these cups or thimbles are provided with axial openings for slidably receiving the vise beam or bar 20. An expansion spring 2'! is coiled about the beam or bar 20 and is confined between one end wall M of the housing l2 and one thimble or cup 26. The other thimble is engaged by a rocking actuating plate 28. The plate 28 is preferably of an inverted U-shape, so as to straddle the beam or bar 20, and the lower ends of the plate are provided with fingers 29 which are received in openings 30 formed in the bottom closure plate I6 of the housing 12. The plate 28 is preferably bowed out slightly intermediate its ends to provide transversely aligned bearing points 3|, for engagement with the adjacent thimble. Extending upwardly from the plate 28 at the central portion thereof is a tongue 32, best shown in Figure 4, of the drawings.

. Mounted for rocking movement in the housing I2 is a transversely extending shaft 33 having an intermediate throw or eccentric portion 34 against which the tongue 32 rests. The throw or eccentric portion 34 is of considerably less diameter than the diameter of the major portion of the shaft and hence a pocket is formed for the tongue 32 to prevent lateral shifting of the plate 28. The side walls l3 of the housing are provided with suitable bearing openings for the shaft 33, and one end of the shaft has rigidly secured thereto a throw or operating lever 35. The outer end of this lever can be provided with a suitable hand grip 36.

When the lever 35 is in its raised position, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4, the eccentric or throw portion 34 of the shaft is farthest away from the plate 281 However, the tongue 32 is normally held against the throw portion of the shaft by the spring 21, which tends to move the cups or thimbles 26 and the collar 22 toward the plate 28. In this position of the lever 35, the beam 20 and the movable jaw l9 can be readily slid back and forth toward and away from the work. When the vise is to be used, the work is placed between the jaws H and I9 and the jaw I9 is slid into firm contact with the work, after which the operating lever 35, is swung downwardly as shown in Figure 2, and the throw portion 34 of the shaft will move the plate 28 forwardly, compressing the spring 21 and forcing the thimbles r cups 26 over the tapered ends of the collar 22, bringing about the contracting of the collar and the firm gripping of the beam or bar 28 by the collar. Hence, the movable jaw I9 is held in its adjusted work engaging position. Upon the mere upward swinging movement of the lever 35, the cups or thimbles 29 can move away from the tapered ends of the collar and thus permit the expanding of the collar so that free movement of the vise beam 28 and the jaw H! can be had.

If desired, a stop 31 can be provided on one side of the housing I2 for limiting the downward swinging movement of the lever 35 beyond a predetermined point.

As illustrated in Figure 6, a modification of the collar 22 can be used, and in Figure 6, I have shown a conical collar 28 and this collar is engaged at one end only by a thimble or cup 39. In all other respects, this form of vise functions in the same manner as the form previously described.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provide a quick adjusting vise embodying a split collar, with means for contracting the collar about a vise beam for holding the vise beam in an adjusted position without the marring thereof.

Changes in details may be made, without departing from the spirit or the scope of this invention, but What I claim as new is:

1. A quick adjustable vise comprising a frame, a fixed jaw on said frame, a housing on said frame, a movable jaw between the housing and the fixed jaw, a smooth beam secured to the fixed jaw slidably extending through the housing for adjusting the movable jaw toward and away from the fixed jaw, a split contractible collar having a smooth bore disposed in the housing and receiving the beam for normal free sliding move ment, said collar having a tapered outer surface, a thimble slidably mounted on the beam and engaging said tapered surface, a rock plate straddling the beam and engaging the thimble, spring means in the housing normally urging the collar and thimble toward the rock plate, and means for rocking the rock plate toward the thimble and against tension of the spring for contracting said collar about the beam.

2. A quick adjustable vise as set forth in claim 1, in which said adjusting means includes a transversely extending rock shaft carried by the housing having a throw portion against which the plate rests.

3. A quick adjustable vise as set forth in claim 1, in which said plate is of an inverted U-shape for straddling the beam, and depending fingers on the plate loosely received in the openings in the bottom part of said housing.

4. A quick adjustable vise comprising a frame, a fixed jaw on said frame, a fixed housing on said frame in spaced relation to the fixed jaw, a movable jaw between the housing and fixed jaw, a beam secured to, and extending between, the housing and fixed jaw for guiding the movable jaw, a beam secured to the movable jaw and slidably supported by said housing, whereby upon sliding movement of the last mentioned beam the movable jaw can be adjusted toward and away from the fixed jaw, a collar in said housing having a smooth bore receiving the last mentioned beam, said collar being provided with a series of inwardly extending slits to permit the contraction thereof, the outer surface of the collar being provided with oppositely tapered terminals, thimbles slidable on the last mentioned beam and receiving said tapered terminals, a plate rockably supported by the housing and engaging one of the thimbles, a transversely extending rock shaft carried by the housing and having a throw portion engaging said plate, a lever for rocking the rock shaft, and an expansion spring coiled about the last mentioned beam and bearing against the housing and the other thimble for normally urging the thimbles, the collar and the plate toward the throw portion of the rock shaft.

HUGO HELBIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

